The Fishes of Yosemite National Park

Handbook of Yosemite National Park (1921)
by Barton Warren Evermann

THE FISHES OF YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK

By Barton Warren Evermann

Director, Museum, California Academy of Sciences

The
fish fauna of Yosemite National Park is not a
rich one. Of native species there are two Suckers,
three Minnows, and one Trout; and of these only the
Trout is at all common. If we include the fishes not
native to the region but which have been introduced
into its lakes and streams, the number will be increased
by nine additional species of Trout. The ten kinds of
Trout in the park about in order of their relative
abundance are:

The limited space available will permit only a very
brief treatment of each species. It is hoped, however,
at anyone interested can, with these short descriptions,
identify with reasonable certainty the fishes
he may find within the limits of Yosemite National
Park.

In the first place, let it be said that all real trout of
whatever kind, belong to the Salmonidae or Salmon
Family. This family includes not only the true Trout
but also the Salmons and the Charrs. Some of the
species, usually the larger ones, are marine and anadromous,
living most of their lives in the sea and Corning
into freshwater streams only for spawning purposes.
Others live habitually and continuously in the colder
streams and lakes.

Of all the families of fishes there is none more interesting
than the Salmonidae, from whatever point of
view they may be considered. To the biologist, the
family is of surpassing interest because of the remarkable
life histories and habits of the many species; to
the angler, no fish has appealed more strongly than
the Salmon and Trout because of their game qualities
and their beauty; to the epicure, there is none more
delicious; to the lover of the beautiful as exhibited in
animate forms, there is perhaps nothing that appeals
more strongly than the silvery sheen, roseate or
golden hugs, and the beautiful form of the Salmon,
the Brook Trout, or the Golden Trout; to the fish culturist,
the Salmonidae are of the greatest interest and
importance, more species of this family being propagated
artificially than of all other species combined;
and to the commercial fisherman, this family of fishes
is the most important in all the world.

The true Trout all belong to the genus Salmo and
are found only in the northern parts of Asia, Europe,
and North America; in Europe they extend as far
south as the Pyrenees; and in America to Lower California

California is richer in Trout than any other country
in the world, the number of species or kinds now
known from her lakes and streams being about a
dozen.

It has been a more or less common practice to speak
of the Trout of California as falling naturally into three
series, popularly known as the Steelhead, Rainbow,
and Cutthroat groups. This grouping is no longer
accepted without reservations by ichthyologists. It
has been shown that the Steelheads of California
streams are simply Rainbows that have gone out to
sea, and, after growing to considerable size and becoming
silvery in color, have returned to fresh water,
and that the Rainbows are simply the individuals
that never went to sea. For present purposes, however,
it seems best to treat them separately.

CUTTHROAT TROUT

Salmo clarkii Richardson

Other names.—Red-throated Trout; Clark Trout;
Black-spotted Trout; Clark Cutthroat Trout.
Description.—The Cutthroat Trout can be readily
known from all other trout by the red blotches on the
membranes of the lower jaw. This mark is usually
diagnostic of all the various species of so-called Cutthroat
Trout, of which there are in western America
not fewer than a dozen recognizable forms. These
different forms may be distinguished from each other
by proportional measurements, size of scales, and
coloration. The Clark Trout is characterized by its
fine scales and the presence of small teeth on the
hyoid bone.

Distribution.—This species occurs in streams and
lakes from the Columbia River south to northwestern
California. It probably did not occur originally
anywhere in the southern High Sierra, but it has been
introduced into many streams and lakes. In Yosemite
National Park it is most abundant in the
Tuolumne River from Hetch Hetchy to its source, in
the South Fork of the Merced, and in Gaylor and
Peeler lakes.

Distribution.—This is the common trout of Lake
Tahoe and its connecting waters; also of Donner,
Webber, and Independence lakes and the upper part of
Truckee River. It is not common in the park, but
was introduced into the Tuolumne River at Hetch
Hetchy Valley, Soda Springs, and in the Lyell Canyon
in 1896.
Habits.—During a portion of the year the Tahoe
Trout lives in deep water, and can be caught, if at all,
only on long lines. Early in the spring and in the
summer, they are to be found in relatively shallow
water. It may be that food supply accounts for, this
migration, as spawning minnows seem to be the attractive
food when the trout is in shallow water.
The greatest number of this species are taken by
trolling with a spoon. (Snyder.)

The Tahoe Trout appears to feed largely on minnows,
but black ants and other insects are taken in quantity.

STEELHEAD

Marks for field identification.—Large size; small
head; large scales; bright silvery color; absence of
red on lower jaw.

Distribution.—The Steelhead enters coastwise
streams from Ventura northward, ascending to their
headwaters for spawning purposes and then returning
to the sea. Since 1917 the species has been introduced
into Yosemite National Park in the Merced
River and in Babcock, Emeric, Grant, Tenaya, and
Ten lakes.

Habits.—The Steelhead is more or less anadromous
in its habits, being migratory like the salmon and
spending much of its time in salt water, and ascending
freshwater streams at spawning time.

As a game-fish, the steelhead is a favorite with
anglers. Its game qualities, together with its large
size, make this one of the fishes most sought after by
the followers of good old Isaak Walton. When in
fresh water it will not only take the trolling spoon,
but will rise readily to the fly.
A
The Steelhead is an excellent food-fish, and its large
size and abundance make it of considerable commercial
value. It is an important fish in the fish cultural
operations of California and of other Pacific Coast
states and of the Federal government. It has been introduced
into Lake Superior and is now an abundant
and much prized game-fish in that lake and its tributary
streams.

The fact that most ichthyologists and many anglers
regard Steelheads simply as sea-run individuals of
Rainbow Trout has not escaped the writer’s attention,
and he himself is inclined to accept the view. Nevertheless
it is known that in some places, they are entirely
distinct and easily distinguishable. At any
rate, it is deemed best for present purposes to treat
the Steelhead as a distinct species.

Description.—Body usually profusely covered with
small roundish or star-shaped black spots, most
numerous on back and upper part of side; middle of
side with a rich rosy band; ground-color of back dark
olive-green; fins all more or less spotted the dorsal, anal,
and ventrals not usually tipped with white.

Distribution.—This is, as far as is known, the only
native Trout in the Merced and Tuolumne rivers and
their tributaries. It is very abundant in the park,
having been introduced or transplanted into most
streams and lakes in the Yosemite region. Locally
the species is confused with its close relative, the
Shasta Trout, which has been widely planted in the
waters of the park under the name of Rainbow
Trout.

Habits.—As a game fish the Rainbow Trout is one
of the best. It runs upstream in early spring to
spawn, leaping over waterfalls and entering the small
streams forming the headwaters. Here the eggs are
deposited in the sand and the young hatched out.

By far the largest output of the state hatcheries is
composed of Rainbow Trout, and there is a good
reason, for this is considered the best game-fish of all,
and it is most highly prized by anglers. The Rainbow
often leaves the water in its eagerness to take a
fly. So readily does it take a fly, in fact, that there
is seldom need to resort to bait or other lures.

The Rainbow varies in coloring according to age,
sex, and location. Those individuals which are able
to reach the sea spend part of each year there, return
to the freshwater stream a larger and more silvery-colored
fish commonly called Steelhead. Spawning
fish travel far up the coastal streams and spawn high
up in the small tributaries. Their habits in this regard
are more like those of the salmon than those of
the trout. Unlike the salmon, however, the Steelhead
does not, as a rule, die after spawning.

In beauty of color, gracefulness of form and movement,
sprightliness when in the water, reckless dash
with which it springs from the water to meet the
descending fly ere it strikes the surface, and the mad
and repeated leaps from the water when hooked, the
Rainbow Trout must ever hold a very high rank.

The gamest fish we have ever seen was a sixteen-inch
Rainbow taken on a fly in a small tributary of the
Williamson River in southern Oregon. It was in a
broad and deep pool of exceedingly cool water. As
the angler from behind a clump of willows made the
first cast, the trout bounded from the water and met
the fly in the air a foot or more above the surface;
missing it, he dropped upon the water only to turn
about and strike viciously a second time at the fly
just as it touched the surface; though he again missed
the fly, the hook caught him in the jaw from the outside,
and then began a fight which would delight the
heart of any angler. His first effort was to reach the
bottom of the pool, then, doubling upon the line, he
made three jumps from the water in quick succession,
clearing the surface in each instance from one to four
feet, and every time doing his utmost to free himself
from the hook by shaking his head vigorously as a
dog shakes a rat. Then he would rush wildly about
in the large pool, now attempting to go down the
riffle below the pool, now trying the opposite direction,
and often striving to hide under one or the other
of the banks. It was easy to handle the fish when the
dash was made up or down stream or for the opposite
side, but when he turned about and made a rush for
the protection of the overhanging bank upon which
the angler stood, it was not easy to keep the line taut.
Movements such as these were frequently repeated
and two more leaps were made. But finally he was
worn out after as honest a fight as trout ever made.

The Rainbow takes the fly so readily that there is
no reason for resorting to grasshoppers, salmon eggs,
or other bait. It is a fish whose gameness will satisfy
the most exacting of expert anglers and whose readiness

Spawning takes place in winter and early spring,
varying with the temperature and locality. The
bulk of the eggs are usually taken in February, March,
and April, although spawning continues through May
in the mountain districts.

The Rainbow feeds on worms, insect larvae, and
salmon eggs. In streams in which the Salmon and
Rainbow exist together, the Rainbow is more destructive
to the salmon eggs than is any other species except
the Dolly Varden.

SHASTA TROUT

Marks for field identification.—Differs from other
Rainbow Trout, with the exception of that of the
Klamath River, in its larger size, smaller mouth, and
larger eyes; scales intermediate in size between Cutthroat
and sea-run Rainbow, caudal fin more deeply
incised than in typical Cutthroat.

Distribution.—McCloud River and streams of the
Sierra Nevada from Mount Shasta southward at least
to Calaveras County. This species has been widely
introduced into the streams and lakes of Yosemite
National Park where it is not officially distinguished
from the true Rainbow.

Habits.—This Rainbow lives in water with a comparatively
high temperature if it is plentiful and running
with a strong current; but in sluggish water
even when the temperature is considerably lower, no
other species will do as well. This species appears to
inhabit the rapids more largely than the slow-moving
water. The spawning season in California extends
from early February to May. Males are good breeders
at two years of age, but the females rarely produce
eggs until the third season. The Shasta Trout may
lack a little of the wild gameness of the typical Rainbow,
but that is made good by its larger size. It is
largely an insect feeder and, therefore, a favorite of
the fly fisherman.

This is the Rainbow which has been most widely
used in fish cultural operations and has been more
widely distributed than any other species.

THE GOLDEN TROUT OF THE SOUTHERN
HIGH SIERRA

The Golden Trout of California are, so far as
known, found only in the headwaters of the Kern
River, all in the vicinity of Mount Whitney. Through
the activities of the California Fish and Game Commission
and other agencies, their original distribution
has been somewhat extended by transplanting.

Four species of trout are now recognized as native
to the upper Kern River Basin, namely: The Kern
River Trout or Gilbert Trout (Salmo gilberti), the
Soda Creek or White’s Golden Trout (Salmo whitei),
the South Fork of the Kern Golden Trout (Salmo
agua-bonita), and the Roosevelt Trout or Golden
Trout of Volcano Creek (Salmo roosevelti). All except
the Gilbert Trout are of the Golden Trout type.

All four of these species belong to the Rainbow
series, the species of which as a whole may be distinguished,
with greater or less difficulty, from those of
the Steelhead series or sea-run Rainbows on the one
hand by the usually brighter colors, and on the other
hand from the Cutthroat series, by the absence of a
red or scarlet dash on the throat, and the entire
absence of hyoid teeth.

GOLDEN TROUT

Marks for field identification.—Color, delicate
golden olive on the head, back, and upper part of the
sides; clear golden yellow along and below the lateral
line, overlaid by a delicate rosy lateral band; under
parts rich cadmium yellow; body without black spots
except on the caudal peduncle; scales extremely small.

Distribution.—The Golden or Roosevelt Trout is
native only to Volcano Creek in the Mount Whitney
region. It is a creek fish and appears to keep within
the peculiar environment of this small stream. The
species has been transplanted to and thrives in several
near-by streams. In 1919 it was introduced into one
of the unstocked lakes of Yosemite National Park.

Habits.—As a game-fish the Golden Trout is one of
the best. It will rise to any kind of lure, including
the artificial fly, at any time of day. In the morning
and again in the evening, it will take the fly with a
rush and make a good fight, jumping when permitted
to do so; during the middle of the day it rises more
deliberately and may sometimes be tempted only with
grasshoppers. It is a fish that does not give up soon
but continues the fight. Its unusual breadth of fins
and strength of caudal peduncle, together with the
turbulent water in which it dwells, enable it to make
a fight equaling that offered by many larger trout.

The scales are smaller than in any other known
species of trout. They are so small, indeed, as to
have caused so good an observer as Stewart Edward
White to declare that this trout had no scales at all.

Although now abundant in Volcano Creek, the
Golden Trout cannot long remain so unless afforded
some protection. The great beauty of the Roosevelt
Trout lies in the richness of its colors and in the trimness
of its form—characteristics which fully entitle
the species to be known above all others as the
Golden Trout.

BROWN TROUT

Marks for field identification.—This Trout can be
distinguished from all other species by the decidedly
brown color of the back and sides, the black spots
on the back, and red spots on the sides; the belly is
silvery or brownish.

Distribution.—The Brown Trout was introduced
into the United States in 1895, and since then a number
of streams in California have been stocked. In
Yosemite National Park it may be taken in the Merced
River, in the south Fork of the Merced River, and in
Merced and Edna lakes.

Habits.—The Brown Trout lives in clear, cold,
rapid streams and at the mouths of streams tributary
to lakes. It grows to be of large size, but matures at
about eight inches in length. In its movements it is
swift, and it leaps over obstructions like the salmon.
It usually feeds in the morning and evening, is more
active during evening and night, and often lies quietly
in deep pools or in the shadow of overhanging bushes
and trees for hours at a time during the day. Its
food is formed of insects and their larvae, worms, mollusks,
and small fishes, and, like the Rainbow Trout,
it is fond of the eggs of fishes. Spawning begins in
October and continues until January. Eggs are deposited
in crevices, between stones, under projecting
roots of trees, and sometimes in nests excavated by
the spawning fishes. The parents cover the eggs to
some extent with gravel.

LOCH LEVEN TROUT

Salmo trutta levenensis (Walker)

Other names.—Scotch Trout; Salmo levenensis.

Marks for field identification.—The true Loch
Leven Trout is a slimmer fish than the Brown Trout,
and the adipose fin is smaller. Furthermore, it is
fully spotted and lacks the brown color of the Brown
Trout. The sides are silvery, with a varying number
of X-shaped black spots or rounded brown or black
spots.

Distribution.—This trout, a native of the lakes of
Scotland, was introduced into California in 1894, and
has since been placed in many streams and lakes of
the State. Seventeen lakes of Yosemite National Park—among
them the noted Benson, May, Merced,
Washburn, and Ten lakes—have been stocked with
this species. Fry have also been planted in the
Merced and Tuolumne rivers.

Habits.—The spawning season may begin in October
and continues until January. This trout is largely
non-migratory in its native habitat. It takes the
artificial fly readily. The food of this species includes
freshwater mollusks, crustaceans, worms, and small
fish. Hybridization between this species and the
Brown Trout is common.

EASTERN BROOK TROUT

Marks for field identification.—This beautiful and
best-known trout is easily distinguished from all other
trout of our waters by the red spots on the sides but
not on the back, and the mottled or marbled color of
the upper parts.

Distribution.—This trout is native only to the
eastern part of North America westward to Minnesota
and Iowa. It has been introduced very widely all
over the world. It has been placed in many California
streams and lakes and is one of the most abundant
species in most streams and lakes of Yosemite
National Park.

Habits.—Eastern Brook, Trout abound chiefly in
cold, slow-running meadow brooks; but they thrive
in all pure cold waters whether of stream, lake, or
pond. The fish is wary and great skill is required to
catch it. The outstanding peculiarity of its habits
is evidenced by the fact that a person acquainted with
its haunts can go out and catch a string of Eastern
Brook in a comparatively short time, while others,
with better tackle and equal skill, will fish a whole
day for them in vain. The largest Brook Trout are
found in the deep, wide pools in the warmer rivulets
near their source. Eastern Brook Trout do not keep
well nor ship well, probably on account of the fat.
They spawn high up in tributary streams and so early
(October to January) that eggs for hatchery purposes
are almost impossible to obtain.

DOLLY VARDEN TROUT

Marks for field identification.—This fish may be
readily distinguished from all other species of Salmonidae
native to western America by the presence of
small red or orange spots on the body. From the
Eastern Brook Trout (introduced into many California
waters) which also has red spots on the body,
the Dolly Varden Trout may be known by the absence
of blackish marblings or reticulations on the
back, and by the presence of red spots on the back.

Distribution.—The Dolly Varden Trout is of wide
distribution. It is found from western Montana and
Idaho to Oregon and Washington, and northward
through British Columbia and Alaska to the Arctic.
In California it is native only to the McCloud River,
but has been introduced into other streams. In
Yosemite National Park the species is found only in
one of the Chain o’ Lakes at the source of the South
Fork of the Merced River and very rarely in the
Merced River in Yosemite Valley.

Habits.—The Dolly Varden is the poorest of all
trouts. It does not rank high as a game-fish, and, as
a food-fish, it is inferior to any other species. In
Alaska it is very destructive to the eggs and fry of the
salmon. It attains a weight of two to twelve pounds.

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This completes the list of Trout, both native and
introduced, that are found in Yosemite National
Park. There remain but two suckers and three
minnows that might be found within the park limits.
The Sacramento or Western Sucker (Calostomus occidentalis)
is common in the lower reaches of all streams
of the State, but the Hardhead Sucker (Pantosteus
araeopus) is a very rare species. Of the three species
of Minnows, the first is the Kaweah Chub, Lake Fish,
or Hardhead (Mylopharodon conocephalus), one of the
largest of Minnows. It reaches a length of two or
three feet and a weight of several pounds. The next
Minnow is the Sacramento Pike or Squawfish
(Ptychocheilus grandis). This fish, which reaches a
length of two or three feet, is abundant in the lower
portions of all the larger tributaries of the San Joaquin.
Still another minnow is the Chub (Siphateles
formosus), a small species, usually not exceeding four
or five inches in length. So far as the writer knows
none of these minnows or suckers has been recorded
from any locality within the limits of Yosemite
National Park.